Wannabe all-A380 operator Global Airlines moved closer to operations this week, as its first aircraft returned to Europe for additional maintenance work. But, as with most things related to Global Airlines, the process was not quite normal.
The plane ferried from Mojave, where it had been parked since December 2022 to Prestwick Airport in Glasgow. That’s a route the A380 can easily handle nonstop under normal conditions. This trip, however, required a stop at Montreal’s Mirabel airport along the way. Because it operated the entire trip with its landing gear locked down.
The flights were carried out by European charter specialist Hi Fly, with whom Global has contracted to handle most of the initial technical work for bringing its fleet online. That company confirmed on Thursday that the crossing occurred at just 27,000 feet and with the gear locked out, citing the fact “that jacks were not available” at Mojave “thus slower and at lower altitude, and the need for a fuel stop.”
After some 15 months on the ground the aircraft requires a landing gear swing test before it is certified to have the gear retracted during flight. Apparently Mojave does not have the necessary jack stands available to perform that test. This raises some questions about why it was picked as the parking location for the planes, though perhaps that is answered by the expectation they were to become souvenir keychains and beer cans, not return to service.
Rather than transport the maintenance gear to Mojave, Hi Fly worked with Global and Airbus to confirm that the plane could be ferried to Glasgow with the gear down for further works.
Hi Fly notes that the next phase of work for the plane “involves completing a C Check, interior renovation, and upgrades.” This specific frame was selected as the first to fly for Global in large part because the expected interiors work would be relatively low. But the full C-check must still happen, which will take some time.
Similarly, Global shares that, in addition to the “complete interior refurbishment,” its partners will “develop new maintenance capabilities at the airport [Glasgow Prestwick] that will enable the aircraft to take the next step towards launching passenger flights.” Reports it was to continue the ferry journey to Malta for additional work appear to be somewhere between premature and erroneous.
And then the company must figure out appropriate licensing and certification with authorities to operate as an airline. A review of the CAA’s listing of licensed operators does not yet show Global. A company spokesperson shares that “AOC updates will be made when appropriate.”
More on Global Airlines' meandering path towards becoming a real airline
- Global Airlines pitch deck delivers questionable claims, fuzzy financials in advance of A380 fleet launch
- Global Airlines’ questionable partnership claims continue
- Global Airlines taps Hi Fly for A380 maintenance and retrofit
- Holiday Swap’s property listings raise questions
- Global Airlines buys its first A380 – again
- Global Airlines ferries its A380 to the UK
- Global’s A380 Inaugural Flight
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